Joe Blanton
' Joseph Matthew Blanton' (born December 11, 1980, in Nashville, Tennessee) is a starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. College career He graduated from Franklin-Simpson High School (Kentucky) in 1999. He pitched three seasons for the University of Kentucky. He posted a 13–12 record from to , and led the Southeastern Conference with 133 strikeouts in his final season, finishing with a 4.59 ERA. Minor league career 2002–2003 Blanton was selected by the Oakland Athletics with the New York Yankees' first round pick (24th overall) in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft, acquired as compensation for the loss of free agent Jason Giambi. In , while pitching for the Kane County Cougars and the Midland RockHounds, he ranked second in all of minor league baseball with a combined 174 strikeouts. 2004 The next season, Blanton helped the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats win the Pacific Coast League with an 11–8 record and a 4.19 ERA. He struck out 143 batters in 176 innings, tossing one complete game in 26 starts. At the end of the Triple-A season, he was called up to the Athletics big league roster on September 18, . Major league career Oakland Athletics 2004 Blanton made his debut in 2004, making three appearances and pitching eight innings. He posted a 5.63 ERA, but did not get a decision in any of his games. 2005 In , Blanton joined a rotation that had lost pitchers Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson to trades. Blanton was third on the team in innings pitched, but still exceeded 200 innings in his first full season. He posted 12–12 with a 3.53 ERA in 33 starts, and his 33 starts set an Oakland rookie record for most games started which had broken the previous mark of 32 set by Matt Keough in . His ERA was best among all rookies with 100 or more innings pitched. He also tied the Oakland rookie record for most wins in a season with 12. His first career complete game came as a 1–0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on April 24, 2005; he was the only rookie to post two complete games in 2005. Blanton's high loss total was attributed to poor run support, as the A's only posted six runs total in all twelve of his losses combined, while posting 62 runs in his 12 wins. Blanton was also named the American League Rookie of the Month for June, as he tied with teammate Dan Haren for the AL lead in wins and finished third in ERA in June. 2006 In , Blanton's ERA rose over a full point to 4.82 and gave up the fifth highest number of hits in the American League with 241, resulting in a .309 batting average against. However, he had four more wins than the previous year, posting a 16–12 record, striking out 107 batters and walking 58. He pitched his first career complete game shutout against the Kansas City Royals on May 31. Blanton did not pitch in the ALDS for the Athletics, but was named to the roster for the ALCS, where he pitched two innings in one appearance, allowing no hits or runs. 2007 In , Blanton, Haren, and Rich Harden briefly formed the A's second "Big Three" for the season, though Harden's season was cut short by injuries. Meanwhile, Blanton went on to post a 14–10 record in 230 innings pitched. He struck out 140 batters, walked 40, and gave up 101 earned runs, resulting in a 3.95 ERA for the year. Though Blanton's road and home records were the same (7–5), his home ERA was 2.69 compared with 5.11 on the road. He also pitched three complete games in 2007, but his first one of the season was his third career complete-game loss, on April 25. Blanton made his 100th career appearance at the end of the season, posting a 7–3 win against the Texas Rangers on September 15. At the end of the 2007 season, the A's broke up their "Big Three" yet again by trading Haren to the Diamondbacks 2008 The new "Big Three" breakup continued when Rich Harden was traded to the Cubs in . The A's completed their dealing by trading Blanton, who had posted a 5–12 record and a 4.96 ERA to the Philadelphia Phillies for second baseman Adrian Cardenas, pitcher Josh Outman, and outfielder Matthew Spencer. He had a 4–0 record with an ERA of 4.20 for the Phillies. Philadelphia Phillies In Blanton's first start for the Phillies, he pitched six innings and allowed five runs; however, he did not factor in the decision as the Phillies scored six runs off the Mets' bullpen in the ninth inning to win. On August 2, Blanton recorded his first win as a Phillie against the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 2–1 in his third Phillies start. For the season, 51% of his strikeouts were "looking", the highest percentage in the majors. In Game 4 of the 2008 World Series, Blanton hit his first major league home run to become the 13th pitcher overall and first since Ken Holtzman in 1974 to hit a home run in a World Series game. He was also credited with the win in the Phillies' Game 4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. On January 21, 2010, the Phillies announced Joe Blanton agreed to a 3-year extension worth $24 million. Scouting Blanton throws a low-90's fastball, along with a 12–6 curveball, a slider, and a straight changeup. His curveball is his best secondary pitch, drawing comparisons to former teammate Barry Zito's 12–6 curve. References External links Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:2008 Philadelphia Phillies World Series Championship Team Category:People from Simpson County, Kentucky Category:Baseball players from Tennessee Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:All-Star Futures Game players Category:Kentucky Wildcats baseball players Category:Vancouver Canadians players Category:Modesto A's players Category:Kane County Cougars players Category:Sacramento River Cats players Category:Oakland Athletics players Category:Philadelphia Phillies players Category:Starting Pitchers Category:Relief Pitchers Category:Players